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v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. A. WHITE. SIGN SHIPTER (No Model.)

No. 566,705; Patented Aug. 25, 1896.

FIRSTST.

(No Model.) v 28heets-Sheet 2.

A. WHITE. SIGN SHIFTER. No; 666,705. Patented Aug. 25, 1896.

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UNITED STATES PATENT EEreE.

ALBERT W'HITE, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF THREE- FOURTHS TOFRANK E. JEWETT, OF SAME PLACE, AND JONA- THAN BOW'ERS AND GEORGEBOXVERS, OF TYNGSBOROUGH, MAS- SA Gl-IUSETTS.

SiGN-SHIFTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 566,705, dated August25, 1896.

Application filed February 15, 1896. Serial No. 579,333. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT WVHITE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth ofMassachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inSign- Shifters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to sign-shifters; and it consists in the devicesand combinations hereinafter described and claimed.

Said invention enables the signs on street cars to be turned by theconductor without alighting from the car and without the use of thecustomary shifting pole, and also indicates to the conductor theposition of the sign and locks said sign when properly placed in suchposition, so that it cannot be displaced by the jarring of the car.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of part ofthe roof of a car provided with signs and with my improvement; Fig. 2,central vertical longitudinal section of the sprocketwheel case and partof the roof, showing said wheel and chain in side elevation; Fig. 3, anouter side elevation of a part of one of the signs, the sprocketwheelcase, and chain; Fig. i, a similar elevation of said case and chain, theroof being in vertical section and the chain being secured to a hook orcatch; Fig. 5, a side elevation of a sign-supporting bracket of ordinaryform; Fig. 6, a side elevation of a modified form of the sprocket-wheelcase; Fig. 7, a vertical crosssection of the sprocket-wheel case shownin Figs. 6 to 9 on the line 7 7 in Fig. 8, through the center of saidwheel 3 Fig. 8, an elevation of the opposite side from that shown inFig. 6 of the sprocket-wheel case therein shown; Fig. 9, similar to Fig.8, except that the side or cover of the case is removed, showing thesprocket-wheel, chain, pawl, and springs; Figs. 10 and 11, opposite sideelevations of another modified form of the case, the cover being removedin Fig. 10 and a part of the side being broken away in Fig. 11, in eachcase to show the sprocketwheel, chain, spring, and pawl 3 Fig. 12, a

section on the line 12 12 in Fig. 10 of the pawl, part of thesprocket-wheel, and part of the case; Fig. 13, a horizontalcross-section of a link of the chain with an indicating-tag with one earbent on to the link.

The car-roof A is of the usual construction.

The signs 13 are of the usual prismatic shape and are provided at oneend with a journal I), which turns in a bracket 1) in any usual manner.

At the other end of the sign a central hole 0 in the sprocket-wheel Creceives the projection b which usually serves as the other journal ofsaid sign, and the hub c of said wheel 0 acts as a journal, beingsupported in the sprocket-wheel case D, Figs. lto 4c. The wheel G isturned by means of an endless chain E, which engages its sprockets orteeth 0 as shown in Fig. 2, and which passes through a hole a in theroof to the inside of the car.

. At equal intervals certain links of the chain E are supplied with tags6, bearing numbers or other indicating-marks to correspond with theinscriptions on the faces of the sign B, so that by taking a marked linkbetween the thumb and finger and drawing it down as far as it will go orto any predetermined distance, as to within one link of the lower end ofthe doubled chain, as shown in Fig. 2, the corresponding face of thesign will be displayed, that is, by drawing the link marked 1 down tothe proper distance First St. will be displayed or such other face ofthe sign as corresponds to said link 1.

It will be necessary to avoid making the sprocket-wheel of impracticablesize to have several series of marked links on each chain, each seriesbearing the same marks in the same order.

When the chain is drawn to the proper position, it may be retained inplace by fastening the chain on any suitable catch, as on a hook c, asshown in Fig. 4:, to prevent the sign from being displaced by thejarring of the car.

The case D (shown in Figs. 1 to i) is more conveniently and cheaply madein two parts, one of which is preferably a bent tubular casting d,having a hollow shank (1 which covers the hole a in the roof A and issecured thereon by screws d which pass through laterally-projecting earsd into the roof. The other part, 01, of said casing may be of sheetmetal supported by a bracket (2 secured to the top of the roof A, theadjacent ends of said parts d d receiving one the other.

The form of the case D above described is especially adapted forstreet-ears of the present construction to bring the chain inside andaway from the display-board, which is now commonly arranged inside thecar above the windows to receive advertising-cards.

The adjusted sign may be held in place by its own gravity and by theshape of the hole 19 in the bracket 1), (shown in Fig. 5,) which is ofusual construction and will be readily understood.

In applying this device to new cars, where proper provision can be madeto allow the chains which operate the signs at the side of the car todescend between the display-board and the wall of the car and in anycase for the purpose of changing the end signs of the car, the case D(shown in Figs. 6 to 9) may be used, the case D being preferably cast intwo parts, one, d of which is the ease proper and the other, al of whichis a cover, secured in place by screw (1 and therefore removable whendesired, and the sprocket-wheel C, having a hub c, which turns incircular openings d in said case and cover, substantially as abovedescribed.

In Figs. 7 and 9 is a spring G, which is substantially one coil of ahelical spring placed around the hub c and compressed between the sideof the wheel and the inside of the cover d to create a friction on saidwheel to check the movement of the same, and in these last-named figuresis also shown a pawl H, which engages the teethc of the sprocketwheeland prevents a material backward rotation of the same, but is intendedmore particularly to enable the sign to be brought to exactly the properplace by reversing the movement of the chain until the tooth which lastpassed the pawl is pressed firmly against said pawl. The pawl His heldin engagement with the wheel by a spring h in an obvious manner.

In the construction shown in Figs. 10, 11., and 12 a radially-slidingdog I is forced by a spring 01 against a hub c of the sprocketwheel 0,which hub at regular intervals has recesses c to be engaged by said dogwhen a side of the sign is properly placed, said dog having a lateralprojection 1', over which the ascending member 6 of the chain E rides,said ascending member being deflected downward upon said projection 11by a projecting rib al cast on the inner side of the sprocketwheel case,so that by drawing downward on both members of the chain the dog isdrawn out of engagement, and by then moving downward the descendingmembers 6 of said chain the sprocket-wheel and sign will be retateduntil said dog engages the next recess 0*.

Obviously the tags e should be securely fastened to the links of thechain and should not project beyond the sides thereof to anyconsiderable extent.

I prefer to form the tags of soft metal by casting them in the formshown in Fig. 13, the same having ears e adapted to be pushed throughthe link and bent outward over the sides of said link. This method ofattaching the tags to the links has the eifect of filling the openingsof said links in such a manner that the links carrying tags cannotengage the teeth of the sprocket-wheel and the corresponding interdentalspaces of said wheel must be long enough to admit such tags. It is alsodesirable that the teeth should be near enough together to prevent thechain from slipping laterally off from the wheel. The series of teethand the number of interdental spaces which receive the marked links mustbe equal to or a multiple of the number of faces on the sign; that is,if the sign has three faces the number of teeth in the wheel must bethree, six, or some other multiple of three, and if the sign has fourfaces the wheel must have four teeth, eight teeth, or some othermultipleof four teeth, and the same is true of the spaces which receivethe marked links, but the number of these mark-receiving spaces may heonly half as great as the number of teeth, as shown in Figs. 10 and 11,where a pair of link-engaging teeth 0 are followed by a mark-receivingspace 0 the two teeth serving to hold the chain more securely on thewheel, both laterally and longitudinally.

I claim as my invention in a sign-shifter 1. The combination of apivoted sign, having a plurality of lateral faces and adapted to besupported upon the roof of a car, a sprocketwheel, concentric with saidsign and rotary therewith,and a chain, engaging said sprocketwheel andadapted to pass down through said roof, to enable said sign to beshifted from the inside of said car, said chain being provided withmarks indicating the respective faces of said sign, as and for thepurpose specified.

2. The combination of a pivoted sign, having a plurality of lateralfaces and adapted to be supported upon the roof of a car, asprocketwheel, concentric with said sign and rotary therewith,and achain,engaging said sprocketwheel and adapted to pass down through saidroof, to enable said sign to be shifted from the inside of said car, acase, in closing said wheel, and a friction-spring surrounding a hub,with which said Wheel is provided, and pressing against said wheel andthe inner wall of said case, to check the movement of said wheel, as andfor the purpose specified.

3. The combination of a sprocket-wheel and a sprocket-chain, having atintervals marks inserted in links thereof, the interdental chain towardsaid Wheel, to enable said pawl responding intervals to admit saidmarked to be drawn out of engagement with said wheel links, as and forthe purpose specified. by means of said ascending member, as and 5 Thecombination with a rotary sign, havfor the purpose specified.

ing a plurality of lateral faces, of a sprocket- In Witness whereof Ihave signed this speciwhcel, concentric With said sign and rotary 5'fication, in the presence of two attesting Witspaces of said wheel beingenlarged at cortherewith, a suitable case, in which said Z nesses, this13th day of February, A. D. 1896. sprocket-Wheel is arranged, a chain,engaging 5 said sprocketavheel, a pawl, and a spring, to hold said pawlnormally in engagement with said Wheel, said pawl having a projectionwhich deflects the ascending member of said ALBERT Y-VHITE.

Witnesses:

ALBERT M. MOORE, GRACE E. I-IIBBER

